Update 10 from Sudan

I hope this finds you well. Over the past couple of days, we have been visiting the Taus Tribe in Sudan. This is the tribe that Pastor Rob Douglass from Ends of the Earth Ministries, and James Nyika from FRUITS Ministries have been reaching out to for the past two years. When we saw the pictures and heard the stories of the Taus people, Promise Child began to sponsor the children of the tribe; bringing the children school uniforms, hot meals, and an education for the first time in their lives. What we can tell you now, is that there is no way that photos or words can paint a true picture of what is happening here.

We have started each day by cramming six people into a modified old Land Cruiser to drive two hours on roads that have never been maintained since their inception in 2002. As we drove, we were able to get the full history of this area of South Sudan from our driver. Four years ago, this region was literally a war zone. The Arabs of Northern Sudan were fighting the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) of the South. Due to the war, many tribes were cut off from access to food and water, causing major relief organizations to carve this road through the deserts of Sudan in order to provide relief. This is the road that we were traveling on. The landscape starts off with a view of nothing more than huge thorn bushes with three inch spikes. It eventually becomes more of the beautiful African landscape that we traditionally see in photographs with the tall umbrella-like Acacia trees being the focal point of this beautiful scene. The wildlife has been amazing; baboons swinging from trees, birds of every size, shape, and color; deek deeks (miniature deer), cows, goats, donkeys, and termite mounds that look like giant chimney stacks. As we went to raise up our cameras to capture the scene, we were quickly told that we were driving through one of the largest military bases of the SPLA and that no photos could be taken. This is the very place where the former leader of the SPLA Army, (John Garang), was shot down and killed. For the members of the SPLA, this war is not really over and they are always on high alert. We came to a military checkpoint where they demanded to see our Sudanese visas that we had mistakenly left at the compound. After driving 1 1/2 hours, the fear was that we would have to turn around. We were momentarily detained while the guards radioed their commanders. This is when we began to pray (silently of course, asking God for favor). We were finally told that we could continue on our journey, but we would have to be escorted by one of the SPLA members. So, what was a tight jeep ride before, became even tighter as the young soldier with his AK-47, piled into the Land Cruiser.

As I stated before, all the pictures and all the stories in the world, could not prepare us for what we were about to see. After driving on roads for two hours, seeing no more than six people walking on the roads, we arrived at the Taus village.

Our initial thought before even walking through the village was, how could people possibly live here? It was so hot and dry, our fears were confirmed when we walked to the village water hole. Some of you have seen the picture of the pit that had very little water. That same pit is now completely dry. The Taus have been forced to barter goods with the local Dinka Tribe, and the water that they barter for is salty and unclean. One of the reasons why we are here, is to talk to the District Commissioner in hopes of moving the Taus Tribe to a more fertile and safe environment. As soon as this is accomplished, we will be able to put up a formal church/school building and raise funds to drill a water well. This will save lives of not only the Taus, but the entire community.

We were able to see the food storage area, which has also been a place that our supported missionaries hold Sunday school classes. There is a full time watchman protecting the food from not only the wild life, but local raiders as well. South Sudan has gone six months without rain. Because of this, crops have failed and there is a massive food shortage. Seeing the bags of maize (corn), beans, and oil that have been provided for through your love and support, brought great joy to our hearts. In the midst of the tragic conditions here, we at least know that the children are being fed, educated, and loved. It was incredible for us to watch the children do addition and subtraction on their dirt chalkboard with one of our missionaries, Danielle, who is a teacher. They all gathered in a group as Danielle took a big stick and wrote out the math problems on the ground. They shouted out the correct answers for one problem after another. Your support is definitely making a difference here.

It is like we have gone back into the stone- age here with the Taus. If I might paint a closing picture for you: there was a woman here who was preparing a meal. Her baby was strapped to her shirtless back, she was wearing beautiful tribal necklaces and a beaded belt; her face was marked with traditional tribal scars (circular dots on her forehead). She was bent over, stirring a small pot of mush being cooked over an outdoor pit of a few small twigs and branches. Next to her, was an old wrinkled woman under a shade tree who had multiple ear holes and a lip piercing. With a rock in her right hand, and maize in her left hand that she was casting onto a larger stone, she was grinding away in preparation for the next meal. As the women worked, one of the tribal chiefs passed by with spear in hand. He wore a fancy beaded headdress, a multi-colored necklace, and a colorful wrap around skirt.

Seeing what we have seen, has given up just a taste of what Paul meant when he said; "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and counted them as rubbish so that I may gain Christ."

For us; counting the cost has meant dealing with cockroaches the size of cats, the buzzing of mosquitoes, long bumpy jeep rides, cold showers, hanging out with chickens that you know will become dinner, drinking water that is the temperature of hot tea...all the time, and sleeping in a pool of sweat because of the sweltering heat. This may sound terrible, but in the end, we know we will get into a jeep and drive away, board a plane, and fly home, enter into a nice home with air conditioning and incredibly comfortable beds. For the people in South Sudan, this nightmare never ends; they are stuck in this cavern of hopelessness. Counting the cost for them means suffering from disease due to lack of sanitation, walking miles in the scorching heat to work for pocket change, and watching their children die from starvation, disease, and despair.

So what can we do? We can go. We can send. And we can pray; trusting that the Lord has a love for the people of South Sudan that is so much deeper than ours...a love that can bring hope.

"For the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever. Arise, O'Lord do not let the enemy prevail."